In considering an activity that occupies one-third of our lives, it is hardly surprising that there are many sleep-related movies, at least in name. Though their titles touch on many of the topics of sleep, many of the themes and plots of the movies do not. However, that doesn’t make them any less entertaining! In this Top 10, there is a surprising diversity of films, from classic horrors to enduring romantic comedies to a beloved Disney animation. Many of these movies are peopled by the great actors of our time, so read on and discover some familiar favorites. If the spirit moves you, pop some corn, grab the box of candy, and settle in for one of these great sleep-related movies …
1. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Tagline: What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?
One of the top-grossing romantic comedies of all time, Sleepless in Seattle earned $227,799,884 at the box office and is a perennial sentimental favorite. Tom Hanks stars as Sam, a recent widower and new Seattleite who lives with his young son Jonah. When Jonah calls in to a national radio show on Christmas Eve to find his dad a new wife, hundreds of women respond to his heart-rending tale. Sam’s anonymous name on the radio, Sleepless in Seattle, speaks to the insomnia caused by his grief. One listener is an unhappily engaged woman in New York played by Meg Ryan who decides to write to him. As the movie unfolds, they try to sort out their feelings and discover if it can truly be love at such a distance.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Rosie O’Donnell
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
Length: 105 minutes
2. Sleep No More (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) (1956)
Tagline: There was nothing to hold onto -- except each other.
A classic of science fiction and horror about alien invasion, Invasion of the Body Snatchers was also released under its less-familiar title Sleep No More. A doctor in the small town of Santa Mira, California, investigates an epidemic of patients accusing their loved ones of being imposters. He soon discovers that rather than mass hysteria, the townspeople are being replaced while they sleep by duplicates grown from plant-like pods. These “pod people” lack emotion and are working to replace the human race, but can the doctor avoid sleep -- and a form of sleep paralysis -- and stop them in time? In what is considered a metaphor in the era of McCarthyism, this is often hailed as one of the great movies of the past century.
Genre: Horror/Sci Fi/Thriller
Length: 80 minutes
3. Insomnia (2002)
Tagline: Don’t close your eyes.
After a 17-year-old girl is murdered in the small fishing village of Nightmute, Alaska, two LAPD detectives are sent to help investigate the case. One of them, played by Al Pacino, is under scrutiny back home for planting false evidence in an abduction case. With his partner set to testify against him, Pacino designs a trap to catch the murderer -- but something goes horribly wrong. He finds himself struggling to crack the case while the perpetual daylight of the Alaskan summer provokes insomnia that threatens his sanity.
Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank
Genre: Thriller
Length: 118 minutes
4. Sleeper (1973)
Tagline: A love story about two people who hate each other. 200 years in the future.
Loosely based on the H.G. Wells novel The Sleeper Awakes, this Woody Allen flick is a science fiction comedy taking place 200 years in the future. Miles Monroe (Allen) is a jazz musician and health-food store owner living in Manhattan in 1973. After being cryogenically frozen without his consent, he is revived to help overthrow a police state in the future. When disguised as a servant robot to escape imprisonment, he falls in love with the socialite played by Diane Keaton. They ultimately team together to try to end the oppressive dictatorship.
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton
Genre: Comedy/Sci Fi
Length: 89 minutes
5. Awakenings (1990)
Tagline: There is no such thing as a simple miracle.
Based on the novel by Oliver Sacks, Awakenings is about a young doctor who works on a ward of comatose patients who survived a prior epidemic of brain infections. Many of these patients persist in a catatonic state, frozen in their bodies. Despite their general inability to communicate, the doctor is determined to find a way to reach them. After attending a university lecture about the effects of a drug called L-Dopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, the doctor is convinced this may help his own patients to awaken from their comas. He gives the drug with great success, and finds himself awakened to the joys of life, but will the effects last?
Starring: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams
Genre: Drama
Length: 121 minutes
Read on to learn the remaining top sleep-related movies.
